The Jamaica Premier League (formerly the National Premier League), commonly abbreviated as JPL and officially known as the Wray and Nephew Jamaica Premier League for sponsorship reasons, is sanctioned by the Jamaican Football Federation as the top division for men's association football in Jamaica . Contested between 14 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Jamaica Football Championship. Most games are played on Sunday afternoons and Monday evenings (Monday Night Football) .
33-487: The Jamaica Premier League was formed in 1973 to serve as the top tier of Jamaican professional club football. The league's inaugural season kicked off on September 22, 1973 as the Craven A National Club League Championships , and finished with Santos F.C. as the first title winners. 14 clubs have been crowned champions of Jamaica. Portmore United F.C. is the most successful team with 7 top flight titles. The 2019–20 season
66-659: Is skirted by the A4 , which runs from Kingston to Annotto Bay . The primary secondary road runs east to west along the foot of the Blue Mountains from Golden Grove to Richmond Vale , with north-south connecting roads linking it to the A4 at Pleasant Hill , Port Morant , Morant Bay , Church Corner , Belvedere , Yallahs , Albion and Eleven Mile . Rail transport in St. Thomas was formerly limited to estate light railways, such as
99-765: Is very mountainous, with ranges that include the Port Royal Mountains, stretching from above Newcastle in St Andrew, to Albion in St Thomas; the Queensbury Ridge, between the Yallahs and Negro rivers; and to the extreme south, an isolated ridge called Yallahs Hill, with its highest elevation 730 metres (2,394 ft) above sea level . The Blue Mountains form the northern border of the parish. The parish contains large wetlands areas, comprising
132-537: The Windward Maroons . Slaves long constituted the majority of the population of the parish. In 1834 the British government abolished slavery, ending it fully in 1838 after a four-year "apprenticeship." But decades later, freedmen struggled to gain land to cultivate and generally worked at very low wages. As they generally could not afford to pay the poll tax , so were excluded from voting. In October 1865,
165-449: The 12 teams from the previous season. In June 2021, UWI F.C. announced it would withdraw ahead of the 2021 season due to the modified schedule conflicting with other player commitments; leaving 11 teams in the competition. Montego Bay United was promoted to the league at the start of the 2022 season, restoring the league to 12 teams. Also in 2022, the league entered an agreement with Admiral Sportswear to supply kits to all teams in
198-573: The East , is a suburban parish situated at the south eastern end of Jamaica , within the county of Surrey. It is the birthplace of Paul Bogle , designated in 1969 as one of Jamaica's seven National Heroes . Morant Bay , its chief town and capital , is the site of the Morant Bay Rebellion in 1865, of which Bogle was a leader. Representative George William Gordon , a wealthy mixed race businessman and politician from this district,
231-531: The English captured Jamaica , they organised their new territory into a number of parishes. This was when Saint Thomas Parish was established, administering part of what is now Portland Parish , which was not established until 1722, and excluding what is now the western part of the parish, which was in the historic Saint David Parish . The Crown invited residents from other British colonies to settle here. About 1600 colonists , mainly from Nevis – including
264-613: The Governor of Nevis, his wife, children – settled there. In a short time, however, two-thirds of them died of tropical fevers . The colony began to rebuild. They forced enslaved Africans to work the sugar cane plantations developed in the area. In 1674, the French Admiral Du Casse, sailed from Santo Domingo and landed at Morant Bay on 17 June. For a month, he raided local settlers, killing many and carrying off their slaves. Later, bands of Maroons settled in
297-539: The Morant Bay rebellion took place in St Thomas. Formerly enslaved people and their descendants all over Jamaica were discontented about the social injustices, particularly on the question of land tenure . Baptist deacon and preacher Paul Bogle of St. Thomas parish led a delegation of small farmers who walked 72 kilometres (45 mi) to present their grievances to Edward John Eyre the Governor of Jamaica in
330-487: The Premier League Clubs Association (PLCA) ceased their association with Cash Plus Limited as league sponsors and initiated plans for legal action against the investment firm. Digicel signed a three-year sponsorship deal with the league that remained active until 2011. Red Stripe assumed the title sponsorship of the league starting from the 2011-12 season, a contract that concluded after
363-543: The capital Spanish Town , but they were denied an audience. Angered after a case in which a peasant was convicted of trespass on a long-abandoned plantation, on 11 October, Paul Bogle and his followers, armed with sticks and machetes , marched to the Court House in Morant Bay where a vestry meeting was being held. The authorities read the Riot Act , but the protestors ignored it. A few people began to throw stones at
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#1732783591162396-481: The championship in the playoffs, the first and second place regular season finishers advance directly to the semifinals and the third to sixth place teams advance to the quarterfinals. The quarterfinals and semifinals are played in a two legged, home and away, format with the winner decided on aggregate with away goal rules enforced. The finals and third place matches are contested as a single leg match. The bottom two regular season finishers are relegated and replaced
429-596: The coastal area between Morant Bay and Hector's River. There are also many cliffs and beaches. There are three main rivers in the parish; the Yallahs River, measuring 36.9 kilometres (22.9 mi) long; the Morant River, measuring 21.9 kilometres (13.6 mi) long; and the Plantain Garden River , measuring 34.9 kilometres (21.7 mi) long. The latter is the only eastward flowing river in
462-452: The island. The total population of the parish is 94,410. The ethnic makeup of Saint Thomas is 88.2% Black, 7.6% Asian, 3.2% White, and 1% Other. The parish has a relatively youthful population. Approximately 54.7% of the parish’s population was 29 years or younger: children under 0-14 years accounted for 27% of the population, youths of 15 to 29 years accounted for 27.7%. The working-age population (15-64 years) accounted for 64.1%, reflecting
495-486: The league in 2002 and subsequently extended the contract until 2012. However, their arrangement abruptly concluded in 2007 when Wray and Nephew released the Jamaica Football Federation from the contract without penalties. Subsequently, the league entered into an agreement with investment company Cash Plus in 2007, despite uncertainties arising in early 2008 about Cash Plus’s commitment. In April 2008,
528-539: The league received sponsorship from Craven A , a subsidiary of Carreras Tobacco Company , throughout its initial two decades. However, in 2002, the pressure from various lobbyists, notably the American Cancer Society , led to the termination of the cigarette company’s sponsorship of both the premier league and local horse racing, marking the end of direct associations between tobacco companies and sporting events. Wray and Nephew assumed sponsorship of
561-684: The league was abandoned in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic . Digicel commenced a second three-year sponsorship spell from 2020 to 2023. Additionally, after a 16-year hiatus, Wray and Nephew returned as title sponsors in 2023. Santos F.C. (Jamaica) Santos Football Club is a Jamaican professional football club that competes in the KSAFA Super League . The team is based in Kingston , Jamaica . Founded on April 16, 1964, by former Jamaica national team coach Winston Chung Fah ,
594-545: The league. St. James is the next best parish with 8 league titles won by 3 clubs. Two of their title winners, Violet Kickers and Wadadah , have since fell from grace and compete in the lower divisions. Hazard United won 2 league titles while based in Clarendon before the club relocated to St. Catherine and rebranded as Portmore United. No club from the parishes of Hanover , Manchester , Portland , St. Elizabeth , St. Mary , St. Thomas nor Trelawny have won
627-852: The league. Source: JPL Statistics Longest winning run The top two finishers in a given season qualify for the CONCACAF Caribbean Cup , a regional club tournament held each fall. The third place team qualify for the CFU Club Shield . A top-three finish in the CONCACAF Caribbean Cup is the only route for Jamaican teams to enter the CONCACAF Champions Cup . The league has produced two Caribbean Club Champions , each with two titles; Portmore United F.C. ( 2005 , 2019 ) and Harbour View F.C. ( 2004 , 2007 ). The Caribbean Club Championship
660-448: The league. The league was expanded to 14 teams for the 2022–23 season. The Jamaica Premier League's regular season typically runs from late August to May the following year. The competition is divided into two stages; the single table regular season and the playoffs. The regular season is contested in a round robin format with each team playing every other team at home and away for a total of 26 matches. The top six clubs contend for
693-536: The main source of employment. Serge Island Dairies is located in the parish. St. Thomas also has many factories for food processing and electrical equipment. Current efforts are being made by Upliftment Jamaica to create, support and provide opportunities to the people of St. Thomas, and to encourage economic and social transformation on a community and county-wide basis. Over 10,000 people benefit annually from this organization, via year-round projects and events, with numbers rapidly increasing. The coast of St. Thomas
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#1732783591162726-710: The mountains of St. Thomas. In 1676, when Saint Thomas in the Vale Parish , the parish became known as "Saint Thomas in the East Parish". It retained this name until 1 May 1867 when the parish system of colonial administration was reformed by Governor John Peter Grant who introduced A Law to Reduce the Number of Parishes (1867/No.20) . In the 18th century they joined with the Maroons in Portland parish to form
759-632: The name and symbol of the team are a tribute to Pelé 's Santos FC of Brazil . Also, the team colors are in honor of the Brazil national team. The team has won the Jamaica National Premier League on 5 separate occasions: in the 1973–74, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1976–77 and 1979–80 seasons. This article about a Jamaican football club is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Saint Thomas Parish, Jamaica Saint Thomas , once known as Saint Thomas in
792-574: The national distribution. The elderly, 65 years and over, accounted for 8.9%; this figure is lower than the national proportion of 11.1% reported by the Economic and Social Survey Jamaica (2010). Agriculture plays a vital part in the economy of Saint Thomas. Sugar and bananas were the main items produced for export .The St. Thomas Parish sugar mill Golden Grove closed in July 2019. Most small farmers produce domestic and orchard crops, which provide
825-571: The next season by the top two finishers of the JFF National Tier II. The following is the historical table of the Jamaica Premier League from the professional era in the 2001-02 season up to the concluded 2023-24 season . Table does not include matches played in the playoff stages. Since the inaugural 1973-74 season, 14 teams have claimed the Jamaica Premier League title. As of 2023–24 season , Cavalier F.C. are
858-405: The parish and ordered troops to suppress the rebellion. More than 430 people were killed outright by soldiers in suppression of the rebellion, and more than 1,000 homes were burned to the ground, leaving thousands of people homeless. They arrested more than 300, executing some and punishing many innocent people. Representative George William Gordon , who was in touch with Paul Bogle, spoke out for
891-448: The reigning title holders, making this their third league title overall. Portmore United is the league’s most successful club having won 7 league titles and finishing runners-up 5 times. (**) Includes titles won as Seba United. Record Number of Titles Kingston and St. Andrew are the most successful parishes with 28 top flight titles won by 7 clubs from Kingston’s metropolitan area . No club from rural St. Andrew has won
924-502: The volunteer militia , who fired into the crowd and killed seven people. Later the mob reorganized and returned, setting fire to the Court House and nearby buildings. When the custos, Maximillian von Ketelhodt, and others tried to leave the burning building, the mob killed them. A total of 25 people died on both sides that day. During the next two days the peasants took over St. Thomas parish. The governor declared martial law in
957-607: The workers in the House of Assembly in Kingston. The governor ordered him arrested and returned to Morant Bay, where he was tried under martial law for conspiracy and hanged on 23 October. The following day Bogle was captured by Jamaican Maroons from Moore Town , handed over to the authorities, and hanged. A public outcry in Great Britain led to the appointment of a Royal Commission to investigate events. Although Eyre
990-432: Was forced to resign and twice charged with murder, his case never went to trial. In 1969, Paul Bogle was named a National Hero of Jamaica , as were George William Gordon and three others. Saint Thomas is located at latitude 18°05'N, longitude 76°40'W, to the south of Portland , and the east of St. Andrew . With an area of 742.8 square kilometres (286.8 sq mi), it ranks as Jamaica's ninth-largest parish. It
1023-492: Was replaced with the CONCACAF Caribbean Cup in 2023 as a part of CONCACAF's new club football ecosystem. No team from the league has made it past the first round of the CONCACAF Champions Cup. The league has been more successful in the discontinued CONCACAF League competition with both Portmore United F.C. ( 2018 ) and Waterhouse F.C. ( 2019 ) making it to the quarterfinals. During the 1970s to 1990s,
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1056-492: Was ruled null and void on March 12, 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic . Later in 2020, Professional Football Jamaica Limited (PFJL) began managing the league with its focus being the commercialization and marketing of professional football in the country. In May 2021, the Jamaican Football Federation announced that the league would resume, playing a shortened season between June and September, competed by
1089-530: Was tried and executed in 1865 under martial law on suspicion of directing the rebellion. Governor Eyre was forced to resign due to the controversy over his execution of Gordon and violent suppression of the rebellion. Gordon was designated in 1969 as a National Hero. Saint Thomas was densely populated by the Taíno / Arawak when Christopher Columbus first came to the island in 1494. The Spaniards established cattle ranches at Morant Bay and Yallahs. In 1655, when
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